With only a few months remaining before our scheduled departure from the European Union, Brexit is looming large on the horizon. As talk of transition, hard borders and ‘no-deal’ spreads, we wanted to find out how farmers and food businesses across the country were feeling about the future of UK agriculture.
By Marie Hoff, Fibershed
A fascination with intricate mathematical patterns and natural systems flow through Joan’s passions of farming and weaving. At her 6 acre farm on the northern edge of Petaluma, Joan, along with her husband Allan, and son and daughter-in-law, raise sheep, cattle, fruit trees, vegetables, wine grapes, California native plants, blueberries, natural dye, and olive trees.
By Gunnar Rundgren, Garden Earth
The path to meaning – and real sustainability - is the opposite; it is through recoupling with nature. Instead of denying that we are an integral part of nature in which we swim, live, mate, laugh, cry and die, we need to embrace that fact.
By Chris Smaje, Small Farm Future
My feeling on the contrary is that only by properly inhabiting that romance and re-enchanting the relationship between people and land as a precious food-giving resource will the problems George identifies be solvable.
By GRAIN Staff, GRAIN
The picture often painted for us is that we need corporate seeds to feed the world: they are alleged to be more efficient, productive and predictable. Locally developed farmer varieties are painted as backwards, less-productive and disease-ridden. But those of us with our feet on the ground know that this is not the reality in Africa.
By Albert Bates, The Great Change
Permaculture is much more. It is a regenerative design science. It teaches you to think ecosystemically: no waste; cyclical; nourishing body and soul; steady state.
By Kalie llana Cassel-Feiss, Fibershed
Melissa and Spencer lease from the ARC now with the agreement that the land is to be maintained as a working farm. Melissa is excited about soil testing, so they can show the Conservancy how soil health, viewed through carbon content and soil organic matter, can improve over time with proper livestock management.
By Wayne Roberts, Medium.com
People who live in Toronto’s Black Creek community come from over 30 countries. They are mostly poor. But they know how to organize a fun and effective meeting about a painful, complicated and widespread problem they all face — hunger!
By Gunnar Rundgren, Garden Earth
I am not surprised that the government neglects these subsistence farmers, their contribution to the GDP and to the grand plans of the President is small. I am surprised, however, that they seem to be neglected also by the organic association. It seems to me to be a key group for the development of local, resilient and small scale organic farming.
By Brian Miller, South Roane Agrarian
We need to exercise our remarkable gift of reading with a thorough workout each day. Otherwise, we get the politicians that we have today, left or right.